Space Ghost Coast to Coast

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Template:Infobox television 

| format = Animated Talk Show
| runtime = approx 15 Minutes 
| creator = Mike Lazzo</br> 
| starring = George Lowe
C. Martin Croker
Andy Merrill
| country = USA
| network = Cartoon Network
| first_aired = April 15, 1994
| last_aired = 2004
| num_episodes = 98(1994 -2004)

|}} Space Ghost Coast to Coast (often abbreviated as SGC2C) is a mostly animated spoof talk show on the cable TV channel Cartoon Network. It began in 1994. The main cast comprises Space Ghost (born Tad Ghostal), a cartoon character originally from an old Hanna Barbera cartoon called Space Ghost which ran in the 1960s and early 1980s, and Zorak and Moltar, his former enemies from that show. Space Ghost is voiced by George Lowe, while C. Martin Croker voices Zorak and Moltar. Other characters include Brak, Lokar, Metallus, Black Widow and Tansut, all of whom also made appearances in the original Hanna-Barbera series. The fictional talk show is shot and broadcast from Space Ghost's studio on the Ghost Planet. Space Ghost also has a twin brother Chad, who is somewhat smarter but has an apparent evil streak. Luckily, he can be identified by his goatee, macho voice, and his use of hipster slang.

Image:Spaceghost1.jpg

Various celebrities appear on the show as guests. They are shown on a TV screen next to Space Ghost, and unlike the characters, they are not animated.

Space Ghost Coast to Coast uses the talk show format as its template, but subverts it regularly. Space Ghost himself is portrayed as incredibly stupid, as well as somewhat deranged. He apparently believes his guests are other superheroes and usually opens the interview by asking them about their superpowers. His interactions with guests are almost always painfully awkward, and sometimes hostile. It is sometimes hard to tell if all of the guests are really aware of the nature of the program on which they are appearing. Their answers often do not match the "questions" coming from Space Ghost, because the questions are changed after the interview. His relationship with his co-workers is worse. His bandleader, an evil talking mantis named Zorak, and his producer, a red-helmeted lava man named Moltar, work for Space Ghost as punishment for their crimes, and make no secret of the fact that they hate him.

Image:Brakshow.jpg

Space Ghost is shown to be arrogant, showboatish, uninformed, oblivious to his own stupidity, and violent when provoked. His powers include invisibility (courtesy of his Inviso-Belt, although it's really just an outline of SG), flight, and the ability to shoot powerful beams from his wrists (courtesy of his power armbands). Zorak personifies pure evil (even if neutered by his imprisonment) and spends his time on the show making fun of Space Ghost, generally getting blasted in return for his efforts. Moltar is more placid about his predicament and enjoys watching CHiPs reruns on the monitors during the show.

Unlike most modern cable series, each episode of Space Ghost Coast to Coast is only 15 minutes in length. To remedy this, Cartoon Network stuck two episodes back to back in order to make a 30 minute programming block. In 1995 Cartoon Network created a spin-off show called Cartoon Planet. This featured Space Ghost and friends attempting to host a television show on the Cartoon Planet. Cartoon Network placed this show right after Coast to Coast in order to attract ratings. The Brak Show, a situation comedy starring Brak's hijinks as an adolescent, was also spun off as an independent 15 minute program.

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Show production

Part of the surreal nature of the show comes from the guests' sometimes awkward and disjointed responses to Space Ghost's questions and other events around the set. This is the intentional result of the production process that was first laid out in the original (unaired) pilot episode. This episode was created by Mike Lazzo, who interspersed stock and original material with completely unrelated promotional video of Denzel Washington being interviewed about the Oscars. When the show was picked up, similar interviews were orchestrated with guests to achieve the same comedic effect.

Before any part of the episodes are written, the guests are interviewed by a crew member, sometimes wearing the Space Ghost costume made famous by Andy Merrill in some Cartoon Planet intros. In the greenscreened room where the interview takes place, the guests are told what basic directions to look in to "talk" to Zorak, Moltar, or Space Ghost. The interviewer also instructs the guest to address him as "Space Ghost" to maintain continuity.

Guests are asked questions which often bear little resemblance to what the final episode will look like. After an interview is done, the writing crew goes back over it, taking pieces out of context and out of order, then assembling them into the "responses" to Space Ghost and the rest of the show. The episode is written around these canned reactions and the writing talent of producers Williams Street (known as "Ghost Planet Industries", named after the fictional studio where SGC2C is supposedly taped, for most of the show's run).

Most of the show's earlier guests probably assumed they were participating in a relatively straightforward interview (albeit with an animated superhero, giant insect, and a man made of liquid metal). As the series went on, however, more and more guests became at least peripherally familiar with what was going on. Some episodes were written to accommodate playfully hostile guests who called the show's bluff, such as comedian (and writer of one SGC2C episode) Joel Hodgson's refusal to, as he put it, "Go down that road with you, pretending we're in space and all". Others had skits written for the guests to perform in outside of the normal interviews. Still others had recurring guests, familiar with the show's format. Reportedly, "Weird Al" Yankovic walked into his Coast to Coast interview with answers he prepared ahead of time, but opted not to use them.

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Broadcast history

In the United States, Space Ghost Coast to Coast premiered on April 15, 1994 on the Cartoon Network airing initially at 11:00pm on Friday nights. Note that this was seven years before the advent of [adult swim]. Later the program was moved to various late-night time slots, usually on weekends. These late-night airings and the development of similar shows by Williams Street Studios led to the creation of the Adult Swim program block. Space Ghost Coast to Coast re-runs now air on Adult Swim on Sundays at 1:15am/5:15am and on Adult Swim's online-exclusive Friday Night Fix service.

The show was initially broadcast on Cartoon Network UK during an early evening slot (around 6pm on Sunday nights), before eventually being moved to a late-night slot (around 10:30pm). During late 2001 and early 2002 four episodes aired every night at 11.00pm, though only ones from the first four years of the show's life. It later aired on CNX in its hour of comedy from 9pm–10pm alongside other programmes from the Adult Swim programming block. In Australia, it currently screens on Friday and Saturday nights in the local Adult Swim segment.

Space Ghost Coast To Coast was supposed to premiere on Teletoon in Canada, but never did. It was said that a celebrity somehow stopped that decision.

New, short episodes currently play in rotation on Turner Broadcasting's GameTap online service (paid monthly registration required) in which Space Ghost interviews celebrities from the video game industry.

The episodes "Gum, Disease", "The Mask", "Le Livre D'Histoire", "Brilliant #2", and "A Space Ghost Christmas" were shown sporadically and then not released for DVD (due to video rights issues).

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Characters

  • Space Ghost (voiced by George Lowe): Tad Ghostal was once a superhero and famous television star, but fell into obscurity after his show was cancelled. He sees his current employment as host of a relatively mediocre late night talk show as pale compared to his "glory days". He is remarkably egotistical despite his overwhelming idiocy and remains generally oblivious to his surroundings. He has little regard for the well-being of others and often demeans his sidekicks and guests.
  • Zorak (voiced by C. Martin Croker): The band leader and a mantis-like alien, Zorak is known for his hatred of Space Ghost. Extremely evil, he once ate his own nephew. He is a virgin, by virtue of not wanting to be killed by his mate, as is the custom. He has no remorse, feels no pity, and acts only to meet his own ends. He was Brak's childhood friend.
  • Moltar (voiced by C. Martin Croker): is the show's director/producer. His body is made entirely of lava, and he normally wears a full-body containment suit. By far the most competent and level headed character, he has attempted (sometimes succeeding) to escape Ghost Planet on several occasions. He has been happily married for about five years to a woman named Linda, and his father was a professional wrestler.
  • "Swingin" Chad Ghostal: Space Ghost's evil twin brother distinguished from Space Ghost in physical appearance only by a crudely drawn goatee. He is a hipster, and is both extremely cool and evil. So much so in fact, that he makes Moltar and Zorak "look like total chumps". Chad loves Jazz music, hipster talk, and outdated slang. He is also quite the ladies' man. He is currently a fugitive, wanted for murder and escaping the asylum he was held in. He may be a rendition of the Space Spectre, Space Ghost's opposite number during his time as a superhero.
  • Tansut (voiced by Don Kennedy) is a very overweight and cowardly man in a red costume and helmet. This outfit makes him resemble a devil. For a while, he was the announcer on the show, telling the viewers who the guests would be for the episode, and has subbed for Moltar as director at least once.
  • Brak (voiced by Andy Merrill): Loud, childish and physically harmless, Brak is the least capable villain ever. Yet his capacity to annoy others and eat beans is nothing less than potent. His most uttered phrase is a loud, grating, "Hi, my name is Brak!". He is thought to have some mental deficiency (on the spinoff show Cartoon Planet, he claimed that "radiation half-lobotomized me!", possibly a reference to the original Space Ghost cartoon). He appears periodically, and is often victimized by another character. He got his own spinoff, The Brak Show.
  • Lokar (voiced by Andy Merrill): Cultured and erudite, despite being a shrill-voiced giant hominid locust prone to violent outbursts. Lokar still harbors a bit of a grudge, and seeks Space Ghost's destruction, perhaps more for his boorishness than anything else. He is frequently accused of being effeminate by other cast members. He has a penchant for bourgeois phrases like "you go girl". He claims his hatred for Space Ghost is "delicious." He is also in a long-running feud with Zorak.
  • The Original Way Outs are the show's band, made up of former villains. they are apparently Space Ghost's prisoners, just like Zorak and Moltar, but are much less talkative.
  • Harvey Birdman originally auditioned to be the host of the show according to Episode 40, "Pilot." He's similar to Space Ghost in that he is a washed up superhero, incompetent and slow, and horrible with people. Space Ghost once called him a washed up Six-piece Chicken McNobody. He reprises his role as host on Episode 74, "Sequel," during Space Ghost's brief imprisonment for destroying France. He also appeared on the side lines during Episode 35, "Rehearsal", and making a call on Episode 55, "Telethon". He appears to be washed up, and in a rut, alternately claiming to be unemployed, or in one case selling towable campers. He used to be married to Gravity Girl, whom he constantly pleads to "come home". These appearances take place before he turns his life around, as Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law.
  • Metallus, a villain who can only talk in a metallic drone.
  • Black Widow, a villain who has professed love for Space Ghost, much to the chagrin of the other villains.
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Trivia

According to TV Guide articles written when the show was in pre-production, former Fantasy Island star Hervé Villechaize was to be Space Ghost's sidekick on the show. However, Villechaize committed suicide before production began.

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DVD boxsets

Season Releases

DVD NameRelease DateAdditional Information
Volume OneJuly 20 2004 This 2 disc boxset collects 16 episodes from the show's first two seasons.

"Elevator", "Spanish Translation", "Gilligan", "CHiPs", "Bobcat", "Punch", "Banjo", "Batmantis", "Story Book House", "Girlie Show", "Hungry", "Fire Drill", "Sleeper", "Jerk", "Urges", and "Explode"

Volume TwoNovember 16 2004 This two disc boxset collects the next 14 episodes from the third season. "$20.01", "Lovesick", "Transcript", "Sharrock", "Boo", "Freak Show", "Switcheroo", "Surprise", "Glen Campbell", "Jacksonville", "Late Show", "Cookout", "Art Show" and "Woody Allen's Fall Project"

Special features include "Andy's Pilot", a performance by Thurston Moore, the unedited version of Matt Groening's interview from "Glen Campbell", pencil test footage, and bonus footage.

Volume ThreeApril 12 2005 This two disc boxset collects 24 episodes from the show's fourth season, some of which have been extended. "Rehearsal", "Gallagher", "Edelweiss", "Anniversary", "Zoltran", "Pilot", "Speck", "Zorak", "Switcheroo", "Mayonnaise", "Brilliant Number One", "Boo Boo Kitty", "Needledrop", "Sphinx", "Pavement", "Untitled", "Hipster", "Piledriver", "Suckup", "Dam","Boatshow", "Telethon", "Dimethylpyrimidinol Bisulfite", "Joshua". It also features commentaries by cast members, new footage, deleted scenes, and 1994's World Premiere Toon-In, "President's Day Nightmare" (without any footage from the cartoons featured).
Volume FourSummer 2006 "Volume 4" was announced via [adult swim] bump. This boxset will most likely contain 22 episodes from the shows fifth and sixth season. It stated that volume four would come out sometime around Comicon in the summer of 2006, but no one is quite sure of the exact date.
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Guest history

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"Volume One" episodes

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"Volume Two" episodes

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"Volume Three" episodes

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Spinoffs

  • Cartoon Planet: Space Ghost, Zorak, and Brak try to host a show on Cartoon Planet.
  • The Brak Show: Stars Brak and Zorak from Space Ghost.
  • Aqua Teen Hunger Force: Episode 87, "Baffler Meal," reveals that ATHF was conceptualized on Space Ghost C2C before it was turned into a series, although the actual episode aired after ATHF became its own series. The episode, as revealed in the commentary track on the ATHF Vol. 2 DVD was also produced after ATHF first showed on Adult Swim.
  • 12 oz. Mouse: Though not a direct spin-off, the Shark character is from Episode 79, "Kentucky Nightmare," where his original name was "Old Kentucky Shark."
  • Perfect Hair Forever: Again, not a direct spin-off, but Space Ghost and references to Space Ghost appear every episode.
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External links

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